John G. Turner

Mormon Envy

In a letter to his cousin Willard Richards, the future Mormon leader Brigham Young once mocked the idea of a "sectarian God, without Body parts or passion, his center everywhere and circumference nowhere." How could Christians believe in such a God? Most Christians, then and now, would have thought the joke was on Young and his coreligionists. How could the Latter-day Saints believe in a God of flesh and bones? In Mormon Christianity, the evangelical-turned-Catholic philosopher Stephen Webb encourages Protestants and Catholics alike to take Mormon thought seriously. At its center, he contends, is their iconoclastic but not unprecedented understanding of an embodied God.

"I am not a Mormon," Webb writes at the outset of his book, "but sometimes I wish I were." Webb is not alone; I have also felt pangs of what he calls "Mormon envy." After talking with Latter-day Saints about their current church "callings," I wondered why my congregation didn't ask everyone to pitch in a bit more. After researching the travails and triumphs of countless Mormon pioneers, I have wished I had such ready access to the details of my own ancestors. I certainly would love any additional assurance that I will be with my family (at least most members thereof) for eternity. And if the church offered short-term membership passes, I would certainly sign up whenever moving into or out of a home. Mormonism offers obvious attractions, cultivating—in Webb's words—"a sense of belonging, purpose, and focus that is not easy to find in many churches today." With the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (hereafter LDS Church) having surpassed fifteen million members worldwide, many Protestant communions might look upon their Mormon counterparts with envy.

Webb quickly dispenses with the question of whether or not Mormons are Christians. "If any follower of Christ," he writes, "had to choose between a Jesus who began his ministry long before he was born in Bethlehem and a Jesus whose ministry was hardly different from any other great moral teacher, I hope it would be a very easy decision." Whereas many mainline Protestant theologians "have backed away from strong claims about the divinity of Jesus Christ," he contends, the Book of Mormon "is utterly obsessed with Jesus Christ … everything it teaches is meant to awaken, encourage, and deepen faith in him." Webb dismisses other objections to the Christianness of Mormonism. Many outsiders view the LDS Church's dietary code, emphasis on tithing, and ecclesiastical discipline as cultish. For Webb, Mormonism brings back a sense of discipline and social cohesion integral to the fundamentalism of his youth and often missing from the evangelicalism that Webb has now left behind. Webb also sympathetically interprets distinctive Mormon beliefs and practices (from baptism for the dead to theosis) in the context of early Christian history.

The above points are quite reasonable, though Webb skirts some material non-Mormons often find objectionable. While the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's early revelations are overwhelmingly christocentric, Webb might have mentioned that Joseph Smith's subsequent theological and ritual innovations (such as the church's endowment ceremony) were decidedly less so. Still, the LDS Church has become steadily more christocentric over the past several decades.

For Webb, Mormon Christianity combines the best of both Protestantism and Catholicism "in a way that is more than something that simply adds them together." He notes that Mormonism shares Catholicism's ritual exclusivity, the exhortation of emotions (in testimony meetings) associated with evangelicalism, and—in its opposition to creeds and dogmas—in liberal Protestantism's "ethos of elasticity." Given the quiet reverence of contemporary Mormon spirituality, it might be easier to argue that evangelistic zeal rather than emotion illustrates Mormonism's debt to evangelical Protestantism. For Webb, Mormonism's "philosophical richness, organizational coherence, and ritual completeness" add up to more than a fringe curiosity. In his mind, studying Mormonism is "an exciting theological adventure" that should lead outsiders "to revise their maps of what they think they already know about Christianity."

At the heart of the matter for Webb is the Latter-day Saint understanding of matter. Rejecting the longstanding Christian appropriation of Platonic philosophy, Mormonism "denies that there is any kind of supernatural reality that we can hold up as a contrast or opposite to the physical world." Everything that exists is material, even if some material is more refined or advanced than other. Webb argues that Joseph Smith unknowingly reintroduced ancient ideas, including those of the neo-Platonic philosopher Iamblichus and early Christian theologians who argued that the Son of God had possessed a heavenly body prior to his incarnation. "Take away Plato from Christianity," argues Webb, "and you will … end up with something very much like the Mormon conception of the divine."

I have read Webb's book and the review gives an accurate picture of it. Webb has a talent for explaining theology in an engaging way. As a Mormon myself, who has read many books and articles about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints written by people who are not Mormons, I would like to particularly commend Webb for taking the time to ensure that his description of LDS beliefs and practices is accurate and recognizable to a Mormon. Sadly, the tendency of many people who write on "Mormon" topics is to minimize the amount they bother to learn before they get on with their project of critiquing some aspect of Mormon beliefs or persons.
Webb's essay is engaging for Mormons like myself, in giving us a different perspective on our distinctive beliefs and their relationship to those of other Christians. At the same time, I appreciate greatly how Webb points out how much we Mormons have in common with other believers in Jesus Christ as Savior and Son of God.

noel

January 30, 20144:04pm

Who cares whether Mormonism is Christocentric. It's the historicity of the Book of Mormon and Book of abraham . So far the evidence is decidedly against it.

David Montague

January 28, 20146:18pm

I think this is a fine review.... I would like to read the book. I've long considered the Book of Mormon/Mormonism perhaps the finest science fiction ever written.

Anne Pearson

January 25, 201411:39pm

"While the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith's early revelations are overwhelmingly christocentric, Webb might have mentioned that Joseph Smith's subsequent theological and ritual innovations (such as the church's endowment ceremony) were decidedly less so." Might I commend to you the book _Sacred Symbols: Finding Meaning in Rites, Rituals and Ordinances_ by Alonzo L. Gaskill? I think you'll find a good argument for the ancient nature of the LDS endowment ceremony in Christianity.

Thomas Eastmond

January 23, 20147:15pm

Appreciate the review, and the book.
Regarding the last paragraph, I'm a bit of an odd duck myself -- a Mormon with a Calvinist streak (courtesy of a thoughtful and passionate Reformed friend). I'm not supposed to believe that God may have created some human beings as nothing more than the scenery against which His play is played out -- but I've seen enough people who seem so thoroughly proof against the things of God, to make me wonder.
Regarding "apostasy," Rev. A., I would venture to guess that the percentage of Mormon elders who believe that Jesus Christ is the literal incarnate Son of God, is greater than the comparable percentage in several old-line Protestant "churches."

James

January 23, 20145:53pm

The comments here are typical of those found on other articles painting Mormonism in a somewhat favorable light. The Mormons show up to shower the author with praise, regardless of whether the piece is profound or original, and the antis show up to unfairly criticize Mormonism. How dull.

Pacumeni

January 23, 20145:17pm

I commend the author of this article and the book he reviews on their general accuracy. One small caveat. The temples ceremonies introduced by Joseph Smith toward the end of his life are intensely Cristocentric. At the end of the ceremony, the initiate is embraced by Christ and ushered into his heavenly prensence. Everything in the ritual leads to that sublime culmination.

trytoseeitmyway

January 23, 20143:39pm

It's disappointing that a self identified pastor ("Rev. A") can't bring himself to balance love with his own concept (there are others, surely) of doctrinal purity. 1 Cor. 13:1-3. The Bible teaches that "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." 1 John 4:2. As the article notes, Mormons do that very directly and explicitly. Jesus taught that a good tree cannot bring forth corrupt fruit, and, "[w]herefore by their fruits ye shall know them." Matt. 7:18, 20. It is paradoxical that Mormons are condemned by evangelicals for trying to live righteously, but it is not that Mormons believe that righteousness will save from sin and death - we don't, that's why we trust in the Atonement of Christ - but that Mormons take seriously all of the Lord's exhortations to righteousness, too numerous to cite here. This is a witness of the power of the Holy Spirit and it would be nice if fellow believers would recognize that.

This is a very refreshing subject. Would that we all could see the similarities of our different philosophies and be open minded enough to see where we might improve our own societies.
As Paul so eloquently said in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."